the Prince and the Pauper
by Smex Lemur
Summary: [RikuSora][AkuRoku][LeonCloud] By switching clothes, Prince Roxas and Pauper Sora switch places while one has to face the incessant flirting of prince Riku and the other has to warn Sora about the plot of a secret Organization that is out to kill him.


AN: … I'm so terrible. I can't BELIEVE I started working on ANOTHER fic.

-cough-

Anyhoo, I promise not to start one again until I finish each and every freakin' one of them. I promise. xD.

Full Summary: Sora had longed to one day see the prince, but he had never expected that his wish would be granted. Now, with only a change of clothing and a small change in his haircut, Roxas and Sora switch places while one has to face the incessant flirting of prince Riku and the other has to warn Sora about the plot of a secret Organization that is out to kill him.  
Pairings: RikuxSora, AxelxRoxas, LeonxCloud and others later on.  
Warnings: boy x boy love, maybe slight OOC-ness, but I'll try to keep them as much IC as possible. That's it for now.

* * *

On the first day of October, at dawn, a boy was born into a poor family. They did not want him, for they were already poor and could not afford to take care of another child. On that same day, at the same hour, another child was born into a very rich and privileged family; they did want him. All of Radiant Garden actually wanted him; they had longed for him and hoped that he would join them very soon.

Everybody feasted that day, the rich and poor, old and young, to celebrate his arrival. All Radiant Garden could talk about for days, weeks and moths was Roxas Leonhart, Prince of their country. He himself didn't know about all of the fuss and instead slept peacefully in his small bed, made especially for him, with silk blankets and ladies fussing over him. This all happened while poor Sora Strife was crying in his ragged, brown blankets with a mother and father who didn't want him.

* * *

_**The Prince and the Pauper**_

It was a good fifteen years later that our true story begins.

Sora Strife had become a well-mannered and grown up young man, despite his father's raising. His father had forced him to beg on the streets for money and food, while he was off stealing. Mr. Strife was a hard and tough man, though he was skinny and had little muscles on him. Whenever Sora didn't bring home any food and came home empty-handed, Sora's father would always beat him senseless with a stick, a belt or just plain with his fists whenever the previous mentioned objects weren't in the neighbourhood.

Despite this, Sora was a gentle boy, who cared deeply for his mother and brother. His mother was sickly and weak, but whenever Sora had gotten a beating and was crying in his small bed, she would always come to him to bring him some food and water, tending to his bruises and scrapes as he enjoyed the small, but very welcome meal. She never had the strength to stop his father however, and he didn't blame her; he didn't want his mother to be hurt because of him. He would never forgive himself if that would ever happen.

His brother Cloud was another story. Cloud was, in his own way, gentle towards others. He was usually very quiet and withdrawn, but whenever he was home and Sora was in trouble, he would throw himself in front of Sora's small body and protect him from the abuse of their father. Cloud usually didn't get hit so often; he was their father's favourite and tried his best to teach his oldest son the ways of thievery, but he would have nothing of it. He had taught Sora to read and write and the two brothers always stuck together, no matter what happened to them. Cloud deeply cared for him, more than anyone else in the world, and he had sworn to protect his brother from harm whenever he could, with whatever methods he needed to use.

Sora was smarter than most boys his age and, whenever he went out to roam the streets of Radiant Garden to beg, he would usually show off his wisdom to the other boys. Ever since Cloud had told him stories of the Royal family and princes, kings, lord and ladies, he had always had a certain fascination with it, even going so far as dreaming and pretending to be a prince amongst his friends.

They usually would mock him without mercy however, for his hopeless dreams and make-believe games, but Sora continued with his pretends nonetheless, sometimes accompanied by Cloud, who usually was his 'loyal servant', much to his amusement.

It was on his fifteenth birthday that Sora visited a good friend of his, Kairi Lockhart, at her home. Her father was the cook for the king and a kind man, though a bit crude on occasions. Sora loved to listen to his stories about the Royal Family and, even though he came from such a poor family and had rags on his body, the Lockhart family would always welcome him with open arms, saying that he was such a polite young man and that, if he had been born into a more prestigious family, they wouldn't mind having him for a son-in-law.

Of course, Sora had no interest in this whatsoever, since he looked at Kairi as a sister, not as a potential wife. He was certain that she would make a great one, however, and would often tell her that whenever she had a crush on some rich nobles man.

When he entered, Kairi immediately jumped at him and hugged him, very un-ladylike, but it didn't matter too much to either him or her parents. He just hugged her back, laughing and spinning her around in the air, before he put her back on the ground.

"Sora! I have a surprise for you!" she giggled happily, grabbing his hand and guiding him to the family room. Sora raised his eyebrows but followed obediently to where her parents were sitting, having some afternoon tea. "Daddy, Sora's here! You have his outfit ready?"

Outfit?

Sora blinked when Kairi's father put down his tea and gestured for a servant to bring in said outfit; a very neat suit, which Sora recognised to be the suit of the waiters for Royal dinner-parties. Kairi's father had often told him all about it, in the greatest detail to him, so it wasn't so hard to see that this particular garment was meant for his waiters.

"Well, one waiter of mine has reported himself as sick. If it had been only one, then it wouldn't have been such a big problem, however, there have been three that I've recently fired and I haven't been able to find anyone else. Since you could use some money for yourself and since I know you would love to see the inside of the castle, I thought you might like to help me out. Of course, your brother is very welcome to help out as well, if he wishes to and if you two do a good job, I might just hire you for good." Sora gazed at him for a long time and cast etiquette aside as he practically jumped on top of the good cook, hugging him and saying 'yes' over and over again, until Kairi's father pushed him off of him, laughing.

"Thank you so much, sir!" Sora said, beaming at him and had to stop himself from hugging him again. Kairi tugged at his hand.

"Come on, we have to tell Cloud about this so he can help too!" she said, grinning at her friend. Sora nodded enthusiastically and followed Kairi out to the streets, bidding her parents a good day and thanking the cook once more.

Radiant Garden was one city, though to Sora it seemed like an entire country. He had never set foot beyond the city, because he didn't have time to go explore the outside world; he usually was too busy with begging for money and food, or just spending time with Kairi. Radiant Garden had small roads and alleys and had several districts. The district in which Sora lived was the poorest and was called Hollow Bastion; it was filled with thieves and homeless people. The houses smelled and were usually made of either rotten wood or dirty stones and the water was as filthy as the stench. Food was scarce and nobody paid any attention to those who lived there; Sora often felt like a rat, by the way people in other districts looked at him. As if he was unwelcome; just vermin. Which he probably was.

"Where do you reckon Cloud's at?" Kairi questioned as they casually strode down the street, Sora with his hands in his pockets and Kairi with her hands behind her back.

"He's usually in the Third district," Sora replied, grimacing. The Third district was where all the really, really rich people lived and where people from Hollow Bastion were really unwelcome. Cloud went there to test his luck; he'd often say that he loved a challenge and that, if people would give him money or food, they would usually be rather generous to him. Sora had tried it once or twice, but it hadn't worked for him as much as it did for Cloud.

"At the park?" Kairi asked, speeding up a little. Sora smiled at her, thinking about what a good friend she was; if he had never met her, he would've never gotten the opportunity to ever visit the castle and to maybe get a glimpse of the prince. He was happy that he had met her, because she never looked at him with disgust or hatred; she was kind and loyal. "Race you there, slowpoke!" she laughed, running faster. Sora sped up a little too, as fast as his skinny legs could run at least. He had a small suspicion that Kairi usually ran slower than she could, just so she wouldn't hurt his pride. He never questioned her about it though and instead just kept running, trying to keep up with her. It wasn't easy on an empty stomach.

After half an hour searching for his brother, they finally saw the familiar sight of a very tall boy with bright blond hair in brown rags. Sora called for him and he looked up, his face brightening when he cast his blue eyes upon his younger brother who ran towards him, waving and laughing all the way.

"Guess what, Cloud?" Sora asked, smiling up at him. He didn't wait for Cloud to respond and instead immediately continued, much to the other's amusement. "Kairi's father wants us to help out with dinner today at the castle! We're going to have to be waiters for them! And if we do a good job, it might be permanent so we can go make our own money without begging for it."

"Really?" Clouds brow furrowed and he thought about it for a while; if their father would ever hear of this, he would demand every penny they would earn by working at the castle and that left him and Sora with nothing for their hard work. If they could keep it quiet for a while… then Cloud could probably get him and at least his brother out of there. "Listen to me carefully Sora," he said, crouching slightly so he was on equal height with him. "If we're going to do this, we will have to keep it a secret from father. We'll say that we'll stay out a little longer to beg, do you understand?" Sora nodded slowly; he didn't completely understand, but he would listen to Cloud anyway because he knew that his brother would never lie or betray him, or do anything that wasn't in his best interest.

"Okay Cloud," he said, nodding. "But aren't you excited? We're going to see the Royal family!" Cloud nodded, ruffling Sora's hair and standing up.

"Well, if we're going to do this, shouldn't we be getting ready? It's already afternoon, after all," he commented, pocketing his earnings and taking his younger brother's hand.

"Yep, you guys will get to travel with my dad," Kairi said, following the two of them to her house. "Because you probably wouldn't know the way to the castle and I don't think they would let you enter it either…" she trailed off, smiling lightly when she noticed the two of them weren't really paying attention to her; they were talking enthusiastically about the upcoming evening and she felt happy for them. It really was something both of them had loved and she was happy that she could have made it happen for them. They really did deserve it.

* * *

On the other side of Radiant Garden, in a big castle, young Prince Roxas was getting himself ready for the feast for his fifteenth birthday. He wasn't that interested in it; the parties were boring, with a lot of old rich people talking about how grown up he was getting and how they would love to have him for a king. It was boring and pointless in his eyes, and the only thing he was eager to see was how Hayner, his personal servant, released his collection of frogs onto the visitors.

Which was pretty pathetic, and he knew it.

He sighed as he fixed his suit, running a hand through his blond hair as he watched himself in the mirror. He was perfectly presentable and was therefore a little nervous. There would be old people, yes, but also Prince Riku from their neighbouring country would be attending and he had… 'the hots' for poor Roxas, as he had often showed by sometimes pinching his ass, or brushing his hand. It was dreadful for him and whenever Roxas tried to talk to his parents about this, about Riku's inappropriate and abominable behaviour, they would only tell him that he was seeing things.

His mother was a warm and loving woman, always seeing the good in every person and never acknowledging that someone could have anything bad at them; which was wonderful, if you wanted to live an ignorant and naïve life that is. She was marvellous at the piano and the violin and was a true artist; almost half of the paintings that graced the walls of their castle were painted by her and were always complimented by everyone. She was kind to Roxas and his brother, usually prepared to listen to their problems and complaints if they had any.

The King, Roxas' father, was less kind, but rather strict and fair. He raised them well with proper manners, while their mother raised them to be kind and honest. They were good qualities for men who were some day going to lead the country and their parents were proud of them.

"Roxas, dear?" his mother poker her head into his room and squealed as she opened it fully. "Oh honey! You look wonderful!" she said in excitement, spinning her son around as she took in every little detail of his suit, finally stopping her eyes at his hair. "Oh, _must _you have it so spiky? Can't you just have it long and flat like Squall has it, it would suit you much better." She tried flattening his hair with her long, soft hands but it sprang up again. Roxas ruffled it in annoyance; he really hated it whenever someone touched his hair, especially to get it under control a little bit.

"Mother, would you please stop fussing over my hair?" he pleaded her, sticking his hands in his pockets. His mother huffed, but kept her hands to herself this time and turned around.

"The guests will arrive any minute now," she said, tapping her chin. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind welcoming Prince Riku—he's taken such a liking in you, he would love it if you would be there so he can be the first to congratulate you with your birthday," she continued, smiling at him. She didn't notice the grimace on Roxas' face as he thought about welcoming the conceited bastard. He forced a smile on his face as he replied,

"Of course, mother. But could I please sit with you and father during dinner? I really would like to spend dinner with my parents, instead of some vague acquaintances." Roxas pleaded. He knew that his mother would make him sit with people who he didn't know at all and who were trying desperately to suck up to him; he really didn't want to spend his birthday that way. Couldn't they just have a small party, with only relatives and maybe some close friends?

"Oh, don't be silly, dear!" his mother replied happily, either ignoring or not taking notice of the pleading looks that were being sent her way. She had always been a bit dense. "Prince Riku has requested to sit next to you and he's hardly an acquaintance, isn't he? You two were always the best of friends, so you go spend your birthday with him!" she beamed at him, while Roxas was cursing everything inwardly. The best of friends? He snorted; he could hardly stand the silver-haired, perverted boy. Roxas figured that maybe they _could _be friends, had he not been so keen on getting into his pants. Could've, should've, would've. But they didn't become friends, so it really was no use pondering about it.

"Okay mother," he replied reluctantly, a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't how birthdays were supposed to be, right? Children were supposed to look forward to them, to do nothing but whatever they wanted to do themselves. He had hardly had any day like that; they were all filled with socializing and studying.

He really didn't want to spend his birthday this way.

* * *

Sora was having the best birthday ever.

"K-Kairi, I can't believe I'm _inside the castle!_" he exclaimed ecstatically. Kairi laughed, straightening her dress; she was going to serve the royals herself too, since her father still had one man (or woman) short.

"Well, if you do a good job, you'll probably get to see it more often," she pointed out to him. Sora's face immediately turned serious and he saluted her father.

"What do you want me to do, sir?" he asked in a low voice, his eyebrows knitting themselves together as he tried to keep his face straight. Kairi and the cook both laughed, as the latter handed him two hot plates.

"Take these and gather with the other waiters; once the ten of you are in an orderly line, you'll all walk inside the dining hall to place to food on the table. These two dishes will go on the right; just follow Kairi and she'll guide you to it." Sora nodded, taking great care of the plates as he followed Kairi to the other waiters. Cloud was already there as well, though he only had one in his hand and held his back straight. Sora snickered quietly, finding his clothes rather amusing; Cloud certainly looked handsome in them, much better than in their rags at least.

The clothes were a tad bit uncomfortable, but Sora figured that it probably was because he wasn't used to regular clothes anymore. He had been wearing his rags for a long, long time and therefore these were a little restricting on him; they were tight, unlike his regular clothes that hung loosely on his body.

"Are you ready?" Kairi whispered next to him. Sora nodded and right at the same time, the two waiters in the front opened the door to the kitchen and made their way into the dining room. The walk wasn't long and Sora really had to try hard to keep his balance; he was a clumsy person by nature and he really was scared he was going to mess up and throw away this great opportunity. "Relax Sora, you'll be okay," Kairi whispered again, giving him an encouraging smile. He was about to reply, but noticed that the two lines of five people were splitting up when they approached the table and he followed his, walking all the way to the end and placing the plates on it, glancing around as he looked for the king and queen and princes.

It didn't take him long to find him, only a couple of seconds; he had heard rumours about the looks of him and about the fact that they were even born on the same day. The prince had blond hair and the boy that was sitting across from where he was standing, was the only one with blond hair at the table. He wasn't looking at him, so Sora couldn't see his eyes, but he certainly was fascinated with him, even though he kept his eyes cast to his empty plate. _He looks so sad, _Sora vaguely thought, before he got poked in the ribs by a waiter next to him, who was gesturing for him to go back into the kitchens.

Sora complied and followed the others in an orderly line back, slightly disappointed. He wished he could have looked at him longer, maybe even get acknowledged by him, but there would be more opportunities. After all, after dinner, they would all move to the ballroom and there would have to be people to serve drinks.

And indeed, after everybody was completely done with dinner, all of the guests moved to the ballroom where a small band was waiting for them, playing beautiful classical music. Sora was briefly stuck in the dining hall, removing all of the dirty plates, glasses and spoons and knives and forks, before he too was asked to bring around several glasses filled with champagne.

He clumsily made his way through the entire crowd, occasionally stopping so someone could get a glass, while he looked for the prince in the crowd.

Again, it didn't take him long; his messy blond hair really did stand out in a crowd and Sora took him fully in, this time noticing the features of his handsome, yet slightly girlish face and his bright blue eyes, the exact colour of Sora's own. He noticed that, despite their hair, they looked very much alike; the same height, same face, same body… it was as if he was staring at his own twin.

He briefly flashed his eyes to the one he was talking to; Sora had noticed that Roxas was slightly uncomfortable and he blamed it on who he was with. Once he got a good look at him, he gasped and was stunned for just a second; the boy was maybe a year older than they were and had silvery hair that stopped right above his shoulders. He was definitely a head taller than Roxas and was slightly muscled, his tight, black suit showing this off. Sora's eyes moved to this stranger's on—

"Ack!" he turned his head when he crashed into something big and fell to the ground, along with the glasses of champagne. He looked up, groaning and rubbing his head, and noticed it wasn't just anyone or anything he had crashed into; it was a big man, royalty no doubt, and he was covered in champagne from head to toe, looking as if he could murder poor Sora.

"You little brat!" he scolded, wiping some champagne off his face as he grabbed Sora by the collar. The music had stopped playing and everyone was looking at him, including the handsome stranger and prince Roxas. _Well, this is a great way to get their attention, _Sora thought wryly, focusing his gaze back on the man who was turning red with embarrassment. "Do you know how much this suit _cost_? It's worth more than your insignificant life!" he continued to spat. Sora vaguely noticed that Cloud was struggling to get to him and that Kairi was holding him back, pleading not to interfere. She was right; if he did, then that would cause a lot more trouble.

"I-I'm very sorry sir," Sora stuttered, grabbing the man's hands that were still tugging on his collar. It was very uncomfortable and he was aware that this was going to cost him his new job; his first, decent job. Something he had really liked up until now. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought about it and he sniffed, before he was harshly thrown on the floor. Nobody stopped him when he raised his foot and Sora closed his eyes, readying himself for the blow; he could take this. After all, his father had beaten him countless of—

"Stop that!" a cry was heard and Sora wondered if it was Cloud, even though it didn't sound like his voice. "How dare you treat an innocent boy like this? I'm sure it wasn't on purpose! If it makes you feel any better _I _will give you money for the ugly monkey-suit that you're wearing—"

"Roxas!" a female voice cried indignantly and Sora felt a slight pride welling up inside of him; so the prince was standing up for him? For _Sora_? An insignificant poor beggar?

"No mother! I can't believe you were all going to stand there and watch how this man was going to beat that poor boy up!" The sound of footsteps echoed through the ballroom and Sora cracked one eye open, only to find that Roxas had reached a hand out for him. In a daze, Sora took it and with help of the prince, he was pulled up straight and was being led out of the ballroom and into unfamiliar halls that Sora hadn't seen before. "I can't believe someone would actually do that to you!" Roxas grumbled and it took Sora a moment to realize that the prince was talking to _him_. "Why didn't you stand up to him? I bet you could've taken that big lump of fat!"

Sora couldn't help but snicker.

"Well, I'm used to it," he remarked, briefly forgetting the fact that he was talking to a prince. Roxas stopped and turned to him.

"You mean, you get hit more often?" he asked slowly and unbelievingly. Sora nodded slowly, rubbing the back of his head as he faked a grin. "That is terrible! How do they hit you? Where?" he searched Sora's body, or what he could see at least for the clothes he was wearing covered up most of it. Sora hesitated for a while, before he turned around and lifted up the back of his shirt, exposing the many scars of his father's beatings. He heard Roxas gasp and the prince lightly traced the marks of belts with his fingertips, making Sora shiver slightly from his cold hands. Sora turned around and straightened his shirt, smiling lightly at the prince who seemed to be infuriated. "Who did this?" he demanded. "That person should be hanged for something so—so, inhuman!" Sora's eyes widened.

"My father isn't so bad!" he cried. "Sure, he's not the best in the world, but he's not bad! He can be very nice too… sometimes," Sora added. Roxas just seemed to be more shocked.

"Your own _father _did those things to you?" he asked. Sora nodded, not seeming to get the point.

"Yeah. Isn't that normal?"

"Of course it's not normal!" Roxas yelled in frustration, grabbing Sora by the shoulders. "Fathers are supposed to protect you, not hurt you! Why, if my father would ever do something so horrible, I would never forgive him! How can you say that he's not bad when he does so many bad things?" Sora opened his mouth for a moment and closed it, not knowing the answer. The truth is, the only reason why he put up with his father was because he was his _father_, there really was no other reason. If it had been anyone else, Sora surely would have hated him. "Come on, I'll take you to my room and we'll get you cleaned up; you're covered in champagne."

Roxas tugged his hand and Sora followed him, sill not believing that he was talking to the prince. The one he had been wanting to meet—no, see—for the last ten years. He really felt thankful that he had met Kairi.

Once they entered what Sora presumed was Roxas' bedroom, Roxas ordered a blond servant who oddly enough was playing with a frog to go away. He threw Sora a towel and he took it gratefully, while Roxas started rummaging his closet to look for some clothes. He took out a regular pants and shirt, before he turned to see if it would fit Sora, who was drying his spiky brown hair.

"You know," he started, pondering. Sora looked up. "We both are the same size and we have the same eyes and face; if you had blond hair, we probably could pass for twins." Sora nodded; he had noticed this too, but he didn't know where the prince was heading with this. "Could you tell me of the outside world? What do you and your friends do there?"

"Well…" Sora started slowly. "Me and Kairi always go swimming in the river that flows through our city in the summer and during the winter, when it's freezing, we go and stand and glide on the ice."

"I would love to do something like that someday," Roxas commented dreamily.

"And we play soccer and all sorts of other games," Sora continued, smiling lightly. Roxas nodded.

"What district do you live in?" The other bit his lip.

"…Hollow Bastion."

"Hollow Bastion?" Roxas repeated. "That's terrible! You mean to say that you live amongst beggars and thieves and murderers?" Sora huffed indignantly.

"You're talking to a beggar, you know," he retorted, forgetting the fact that he was supposed to reply politely. Roxas blinked.

"You? You don't strike me as a beggar at all… you're a waiter, aren't you? You don't need to beg," he said.

"This was only my first day, to see how it would go," Sora explained. "But I've really screwed it up today, this'll probably the last time I work as a waiter," he groaned in frustration. Roxas laughed.

"You think this hasn't happened before? There have been a lot of screw ups amongst servants and waiters! The cook won't fire you just because you dropped one thing on the ground." Sora's eyes lit up slightly. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I'll be taking over for you anyway."

Sora blinked.

"Huh?"

"Well, I want to see the outside world; live as a commoner! Just for a little while, of course," he grinned and winked at Sora, who still wasn't getting it. "We'll trade places; you've seen it, we look just alike. We just have to get you a haircut and make your hair blond; mother does it all the time."

"B-but wouldn't people notice?" Sora asked. "And you shouldn't go to my father! He'll beat you up, I don't want to see that happening on my account!"

"Not if we act our part; you've seen it, haven't you? We look exactly alike—it will be a piece of cake. And don't worry about your dad, I can take some beatings," Roxas puffed his chest proudly. "Besides, this will only be for a week or so. In a week, we'll have another dinner party, so if all goes well, I'll be able to come back here and we can change again." Sora was about to protest once more, but Roxas called in Hayner. "Hayner, could you give Sora here the same hairstyle as I have? I'll be right back, just going to get something from my mother's room." Hayner nodded and Roxas practically skipped away, closing the door softly.

"He sure is in a good mood," the new boy commented. He turned to Sora, who was blinking at him curiously. "Hey, the name's Hayner."

"Sora," the other replied. "Is that a frog on your head?" Hayner grinned.

"Yep. I've just let a couple loose in the ballroom, too bad you missed it," his grin spread. "Though, I gotta thank you. With all that commotion you caused, I was able to sneak in there without getting noticed." Sora grinned back at him. "So, same haircut as Roxy, huh? Coming right up."

He grabbed the scissors from a drawer and Sora, for the first time in his life, feared for his hair.

* * *

"Wow."

"Double wow."

"Triple wow."

The three of them stared at each other for a while; all of them stunned. Hayner had did a great job at fixing Sora's hair, while Roxas had put some smelly goo in it that made it the same shade of blond as Roxas' hair. They had switched clothes so that Roxas was in the dirty waiter's suit and Sora was in the beautiful garment fit for a prince. Other than that, they hadn't changed at all and still they looked exactly alike.

"Man, you two sure this is going to work? There are a _lot _of things that can go wrong with this plan," Hayner commented finally, fearing for Roxas. Really, the outside world was pretty dangerous, especially if someone would notice that Roxas was a prince. Not to mention the fact that this Sora-person (as kind and funny as he was) lived in the most dangerous district of Radiant Garden.

He would never say it out loud, but Hayner worried about him.

"Only one way to find out if this is going to work," Roxas said, shrugging. "Now it's my turn for the hair; I can't go around without brown hair, now can I?" he asked, grinning. He pulled out another package of smelly goo and smeared it into his hair. He washed it out ten minutes later and Hayner cut it slightly—it wasn't exactly like Sora's old hair, but it would do for the moment.

"Can we tell my brother about this though?" Sora asked, worrying. He would surely know that it wasn't Sora that was going to go home with them and live with them. Roxas was about to reply when there suddenly was a loud slap heard from outside Roxas' bedroom.

"_Pervert_!" Someone shrieked and Sora's eyes widened.

"Cloud!" he called and ran to the hall, ready to punch the living daylights out of anyone who was hurting his brother. He stopped when he saw a tall man with brown hair standing there, growling lightly and with a glowing, red mark on his cheek. Cloud was huffing indignantly and Sora noticed that his suit was ruffled, as if… someone had been trying to take it off.

"Leon!" Roxas ran to the tall man, now known as Leon, and pulled him away from Cloud.

"Roxas?" he raised an eyebrow. "What the hell did you do with your hair? And who's that?" he pointed a finger at his younger brother's double.

"Sora? What the hell are you wearing?" Cloud asked, walking to Sora and examining his face. "Did that fat man hurt you? 'Cause if he did, I swear I'll—"

"It's okay Cloud," Sora said, grinning up at him. "He didn't hurt me or anything, Roxas helped me, but what happened to you? I heard you yelling something." Cloud's face immediately reddened and he tugged at the collar of his shirt, coughing.

"That's… not really important," he said. "The important thing is, _what _are _you _up to?"

The next thirty minutes, Hayner, Sora and Roxas tried explaining to their brothers what they were planning and how they were going to do it, though Hayner more or less kept on saying that it wasn't his idea and that he was only following orders. Leon didn't agree with it at first and neither did Cloud, but eventually it worked, though Cloud was insisting that he should stay with Sora and that they should trade places too. Leon shrugged.

"No way, I'm not going to live in some shabby apartment in Hollow Bastion," he said.

"You bastard," Cloud growled, not caring at all that he was talking to a prince. "Then I'll just live here! Aren't you worried about Roxas?"

"He's old enough to make his own decisions; if he wants to live off bread for the next week, then be my guest," he replied. Cloud's eyebrow twitched.

"Fine!" he cried, huffing. "Then I'll watch over Roxas for you and you'll watch over Sora. And if anything happens to him, then you can be sure I'll kill you slow and painfully, got it?" He stuck out his hand and ignored the way Leon smirked and took it, brushing his thumb softly over it. Cloud immediately turned red and pulled back his hand, before he turned to Sora.

"And you'd better be careful, young man!" he scolded, sounding more like a father than a brother. Sora nodded.

"Don't worry Cloud!" he said, beaming at him. "Everything'll be fine, it's just for one week." Cloud sighed and slightly agreed.

It was only for one week; what's the worst that could happen?


End file.
